The 7 days of Creation, Genesis 2:4-3:24

Genesis 2:4-3:24

Adam and Eve

2:4 This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created.

When the LORD God made the earth and the heavens— 5 and no shrub of the field had yet appeared on the earth and no plant of the field had yet sprung up, for the LORD God had not sent rain on the earth and there was no man to work the ground, 6 but streams came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground— 7 the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.

8 Now the LORD God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. 9 And the LORD God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

10 A river watering the garden flowed from Eden; from there it was separated into four headwaters. 11 The name of the first is the Pishon; it winds through the entire land of Havilah, where there is gold. 12 (The gold of that land is good; aromatic resin and onyx are also there.) 13 The name of the second river is the Gihon; it winds through the entire land of Cush. 14 The name of the third river is the Tigris; it runs along the east side of Asshur. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.

15 The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. 16 And the LORD God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.”

18 The LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”

19 Now the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. 20 So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds of the air and all the beasts of the field.

But for Adam no suitable helper was found. 21 So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and closed up the place with flesh. 22 Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.

23 The man said,

“This is now bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called ‘woman,’
for she was taken out of man.”

24 For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.

25 The man and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.

The Temptation and Fall

3:1 Now the Shining One was more clever than any animal of the field that the LORD God had made. It asked the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You are not to eat from any tree of the garden’?”

2 “We may eat from the trees of the garden,” the woman answered the serpent, 3 “but as for the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You are not to eat from it, nor are you to touch it, or you will die.’”

4 “You certainly will not die!” the Shining One told the woman. 5 “Even God knows that on the day you eat from it, your eyes will be opened and you’ll become like God, knowing good and evil.”

6 When the woman saw that the tree produced good food, was attractive in appearance, and was desirable for making one wise, she took some of its fruit and ate it. Then she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate some, too. 7 As a result, they both understood what they had done, and they became aware that they were naked. So they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves.

8 When they heard the voice of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden during the breeze of the day, the man and his wife concealed themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. 9 So the LORD God called out to the man, asking him, “Where are you?”

10 “I heard your voice in the garden,” the man answered, “and I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid from you.”i

11 “Who told you that you are naked?” God asked. “Did you eat fruit from the tree that I commanded you not to eat?”

12 The man answered, “The woman whom you provided for me gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate some of it.”

13 Then the LORD God asked the woman, “What did you do?”

“The Shining One misled me,” the woman answered, “so I ate.”

The Penalty of Sin

14 The LORD God told the Shining One,

“Because you have done this,

you are more cursed than all the livestock,

and more than all the earth’s animals,

You’ll crawl on your belly

and eat dust

as long as you live.

15 “I’ll place hostility between you and the woman,

between your offspring and her offspring.

He’ll strike you on the head,

and you’ll strike him on the heel.”

16 He told the woman,

“I’ll greatly increase the pain of your labor during childbirth.

It will be painful for you to bear children,

“since your trust is turning toward your husband,

and he will dominate you.”

17 He told the man,

“Because you have listened to what your wife said,

and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you,

‘You must not eat from it,’

cursed is the ground because of you.

You’ll eat from it through pain-filled labor

for the rest of your life.

18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you,

and you’ll eat the plants from the meadows.

19 You will eat food by the sweat of your brow

until you’re buried int the ground,

because you were taken from it.

You’re made from dust

and you’ll return to dust.”

20 Now Adam had named his wife “Eve,” because she was to become the mother of everyone who was living. 21 The LORD God fashioned garments from animal skins for Adam and his wife, and clothed them.

22 Later, the LORD God said, “Look! The man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, so he won’t reach out, also take from the tree of life, eat, and then live forever—” 23 therefore the LORD God expelled the man from the garden of Eden so he would work the ground from which he had been taken. 24 After he had expelled the man, the LORD God placed winged angels at the eastern end of the garden of Eden, along with a fiery, turning sword, to prevent access to the tree of life.Genesis 3:1-24